Simplified carrier migration using alias access point identification

ABSTRACT

A network receives a connection request, from a wireless device, that includes a first Access Point Name (APN) that is invalid in a first wireless carrier network. The network device translates the first APN to a second APN that is valid in the first wireless carrier network. The network device uses the second APN in signaling associated with a connection between the wireless device and the first wireless carrier network.

RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is a continuation of, and claims priority to,U.S. application Ser. No. 15/695,360 entitled “Simplified CarrierMigration Using Alias Access Point Identification” filed Sep. 5, 2017,the contents of which are incorporated by reference herein in theirentirety.

BACKGROUND

Users of wireless devices, communicating within wireless networks suchas Public Land Mobile Networks (PLMNs), often attempt to connect to anetwork that is connected to the wireless network. For example, the userof a wireless device may attempt to use a web browsing application atthe wireless device to connect to the Internet via a PLMN. In suchwireless networks, Access Point Names (APNs) may be used for identifyinganother network (e.g., the Internet, an Internet Protocol MultimediaSubsystem (IMS) network), and/or a particular gateway associated withthe other network, that a wireless device user wants to communicatewith, and, additionally, may be used for defining a type of service tobe provided via the other network.

When the wireless network receives a connection request that includes aparticular APN, the wireless network examines the APN to determine whattype of network connection should be created, and to which other networkthe requesting wireless device should be connected. The wireless networkuses the APN to set up a connection between the requesting wirelessdevice, and a gateway between the wireless network and the othernetwork. As one particular example, the APN may identify the Internet asthe other network being requested (e.g., APN=“internet”). An APNtypically includes an identifier that identifies the other network towhich a connection is being requested, and may optionally identify theparticular service requested by the device user. Each wireless carriernetwork may maintain its own specific set of APNs that may only be validwithin that carrier's wireless network. Therefore, APNs that are validfor use within a first wireless carrier network may be invalid for usewithin a second wireless carrier network (and vice versa).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary overview of the use of alias APNs fortranslating APNs associated with a first wireless carrier network, ornon-standard APNs, to respective APNs associated with a second wirelesscarrier network;

FIGS. 2A-2C depict an exemplary network environment in which alias APNsare used for translating APNs associated with a first wireless carriernetwork, or non-standard APNs that are invalid in a second wirelesscarrier network, to APNs associated with the second wireless carriernetwork when network signaling occurs between wireless devices and thesecond wireless carrier network;

FIG. 3 is a diagram that depicts exemplary components of a device thatmay correspond to the user equipments, base stations, serving gateways,mobility management nodes, home subscriber server, supervisory node,over-the-air server, and packet gateways shown in FIGS. 2A-2C;

FIG. 4 is a diagram that depicts an exemplary implementation of a datastructure stored in the home subscriber server of FIGS. 1 and 2B;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram that illustrates an exemplary process forupdating a subscriber's wireless network subscriber profile when thesubscriber changes wireless service from a first wireless networkcarrier to a second wireless network carrier, or when the subscriber'swireless device uses non-standard APNs that are invalid in the secondwireless carrier network;

FIG. 6 is a diagram that depicts an exemplary list containing a set ofAPNs, including alias APNs, allowed to be accessed by a wireless networkservice subscriber associated with the list;

FIG. 7 is an exemplary operations/messaging diagram associated with theexemplary process of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram that illustrates an exemplary process for amobility management node to obtain an updated subscriber profile, of asubscriber, which includes a subscriber's list of allowed APNs withalias APNs, for use at the mobility management node in handlingsignaling from the wireless device of the subscriber;

FIG. 9 is an exemplary operations/messaging diagram associated with theexemplary process of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram that illustrates an exemplary process fortranslating, based on alias APNs, an APN in a first wireless carriernetwork, or a non-standard APN that is invalid in a second wirelesscarrier network, to an APN in the second wireless carrier network forestablishing a connection via the second wireless carrier network; and

FIG. 11 is an exemplary operations/messaging diagram associated with theexemplary process of FIG. 10.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings.The same reference numbers in different drawings may identify the sameor similar elements. The following detailed description does not limitthe invention, which is defined by the claims.

The mobile network industry has been attempting to address the demandfor greater inter-carrier migration capability by developing newembedded Universal Integrated Circuit Cards (eUICCs) that enable acustomer or carrier to electronically modify the profile (e.g.,Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) profile) of the customer when moving awireless device from one wireless carrier to another wireless carrier.For instance, if a second carrier (e.g., Verizon) were to win a largegroup of customers from a first carrier (e.g., AT&T), each of thecustomer's eUICCs can be electronically modified (e.g., via over-the-airprogramming) to remove the first carrier's credentials from eachcustomer's profile and add new credentials for the second carrier suchthat the customers would be able to move their devices over to thesecond carrier without having to physically swap out their devices, orthe SIMs in their devices. While this ability is a significant step, itdoes not completely address the problems associated with the move of adevice from one carrier to another. The eUICC provides theauthentication service, and also includes the information that willguide the device to select the correct radio frequency (RF) signal fromall of the available choices. However, the wireless device itselfcontrols actual Access Point Names (APNs) that the device will requestwhen it connects to the second carrier's wireless network. Since theseAPNs are not standardized among wireless network carriers, the need tochange the APNs on the wireless device causes additional problems withthe inter-carrier migration process.

When a customer/subscriber changes from a first carrier to a secondcarrier, an update of the eUICC of the customer's wireless device can beperformed automatically to update the SIM contents, but there is nosimple way to update the APN names to change the first carrier APNs tothe second carrier APNs. Even if over-the-air device management attemptsto update the device APN table, there is no guarantee that this willwork because the first carrier's device management client may not becompatible with the second carrier's device management server. Even ifthe device management client is compatible with the second carrier'sdevice management server, the wireless device will not be able to accessthe second carrier's wireless network until the APN table is updated,and the second carrier's over-the-air device management server will nothave any way to reach the device until it can connect to the secondcarrier's wireless network. This “catch-22” situation requires that thecustomer swap out their devices, or else manually update the device APNtable on each device as part of the migration from the first carrier tothe second carrier.

A related, but distinct problem, with carrier-specific APN names is thatsome wireless customers split their business across multiple carriersfor various reasons, such as, price competition, global coverage, etc.These customers would prefer to be able to standardize on one set of APNnames so that they can program their devices at the factory and thenactivate them on one of multiple carriers without the need to reprogramthe APN names on their device. Today, this is not possible since eachcarrier uses different, carrier-specific, non-standardized APNs. Thesecustomers, thus, may wish to maintain the flexibility to use multipledifferent carriers, or to change to a different carrier in the future.

Yet another problem involving APNs is that some device manufacturers maybe unwilling to delivery carrier-specific versions of devices that arepre-loaded with carrier-specific APNs. Additionally, some devicemanufacturers may be unwilling to deploy versions of devices with acarrier-compatible device management client. Historically, some carriers(e.g., Verizon™) have been able to convince manufacturers to comply withthose carriers' device requirements. But as new low-cost devices comeonto the market (e.g., LTE CatM1 devices, LTE NB-IoT devices, etc.), thecost of producing and stocking carrier-specific models of devices may beunsupportable due to the low cost and low profit margin nature of thedevices. Therefore, new low-cost devices coming onto the market may notbe pre-loaded with carrier-specific APNs or a carrier-compatible devicemanagement client. If these new devices are not pre-loaded withcarrier-specific APNs, they will not be able to connect to a specificcarrier's network until the APNs have been updated on the devices. Ifthese new devices are not pre-loaded with a carrier-compatible devicemanagement client, they may not be capable of being managed by aspecific carrier such that carrier-specific APNs can be automaticallyupdated on the devices, and updated APNs for the specific carrier mayneed to be manually loaded into the device.

A further problem involving APNs occurs with out-of-box (OOB) devicesthat have default APN tables that do not match the APN table required inthe particular wireless carrier network to which the devices areattempting to connect. For example, in Verizon's™ wireless carriernetwork, a default class 3 APN for connecting to the Internet is“vzwinternet.” However, Verizon™ Mobile Private Network (MPN) servicecustomers need to use a customer-specific, non-standard APN of the form<company>.vzwentp. Devices of these MPN service customers often do notreceive correct Internet access service until after the device APN tableis updated, which can take an undesirable period of time.

A possible solution to the issue of carrier-specific APNs during carriermigration would be to allow devices to continue to use their old APNnames and configure the second carrier's wireless network to accommodatethem. This solution is not usually feasible as the APN is a configuredparameter in many network and Information Technology (IT) systems. Forexample, the APN is typically configured on the Packet Gateway alongwith a number of APN-specific parameters, so each customer-specific APNwould need to be configured on every one of the second carrier's packetgateways. Also, the APNs are referenced in the rules of the Policy andCharging Rules Function (PCRF) in each carrier's wireless network, sonew policy rules would be required for each customer-specific APN.Finally, the APN is considered when processing charging records, so thechanges to the charging record processing would be required for eachcustomer-specific APN. Therefore, it is not possible for a secondcarrier to accept non-standard APNs. As a result, the only optioncurrently available is to update the device APNs at the customer'swireless device to conform to the second carrier's standards when thewireless device is ported to the second carrier's wireless network.

Exemplary embodiments described herein resolve the APN carrier migrationproblem, and other APN problems, discussed above with an extension ofcurrent wireless standards. With existing standards, the mobilitymanagement node in the wireless network (e.g., the Mobility ManagementEntity (MME)) receives a list of allowed APNs for each subscriber fromthe Home Subscriber Server. Embodiments described herein propose toinclude, within the list of allowed APNs for each subscriber, twodifferent APNs for each destination: an external APN that the wirelessdevice requests when requesting a connection, and an internal APN thatthe wireless network will use for internal signaling. The external APNcorresponds to the APN of the first network, or a non-standard APN, andthe internal APN corresponds to the APN of the second network. Thisinternal APN is also referred to herein as an “alias APN.” Embodimentsdescribed herein, therefore, enable the translation of a first APN,contained in a service request (e.g., a connection request) and that isinvalid within the particular wireless carrier network to which thewireless device is connecting, to a second APN that is valid within theparticular wireless carrier network via the use of alias APNs.Therefore, as described herein, given APNs programmed into the deviceAPN tables of wireless devices may, when necessary, be translated intoappropriate APNs that are valid within a particular wireless carriernetwork in a manner that is transparent to the wireless devices andtheir customers, without necessitating reprogramming or updating of thedevice APN tables at the wireless devices.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary overview of the use of alias APNs fortranslating APNs associated with a first wireless carrier network, ornon-standard APNs, to respective APNs associated with a second wirelesscarrier network. As shown, a subscriber 100, who owns, and/or operates awireless device, referred to herein as a user equipment (UE) 105, hassubscribed to wireless service from a first wireless carrier network(Carrier 1) such that subscriber 100 may use UE 105 to communicate viathe first wireless carrier network. A “wireless carrier network,” asreferred to herein, may include a wireless network, such as a PLMN orsatellite network, that is owned, operated, and/or administered by aparticular wireless network provider. A “first wireless carrier network”and a “second wireless carrier network,” therefore, refer to twodifferent wireless networks that are owned, operated and/or administeredby two different wireless network providers. As further shown in FIG. 1,the subscriber 100 chooses to change 115 wireless carrier networks fromthe first wireless carrier network (1st Carrier) to a 2nd wirelesscarrier network (2nd Carrier). Alternatively, the subscriber 100 maymaintain subscriptions with two or more wireless carrier networkssimultaneously, with each carrier network having its owncarrier-specific APNs, and the subscriber 100 may elect to switch fromuse of the first wireless carrier network to the second wireless carriernetwork. As a further alternative, the subscriber 100's UE 105 may nothave a carrier-specific device management client and/or may havenon-standard APNs, that are invalid in the second wireless carriernetwork, programmed into the UE 105's device APN table 110.

Upon the subscriber 100 initiating the changing of wireless carriernetworks, alias APNs are determined, that correspond to APNs associatedwith the second wireless carrier network, and are inserted into thesubscriber's list 120 of allowed APNs. The alias APNs, inserted intolist 120, are also identified as “internal name” APNs and areassociated, in list 120, with a corresponding “external name” APN withinthe first wireless carrier network. The subscriber's list 120 of allowedAPNs may then be inserted within a subscriber profile within a HomeSubscriber Server (HSS) 125, or similar database, within the secondwireless carrier network. The subscriber profile 130 may be subsequentlyretrieved from HSS 125 and sent to a mobility management node 135 thathandles connection requests, and other signaling, from the UE 105 of thesubscriber 100.

As shown in the example of FIG. 1, the subscriber 100, using UE 105,attempts to connect to the Internet, and UE 105 retrieves, from deviceAPN table 110, the “Carrier_1_APN3” within table 110 that corresponds tothe Internet. Alternatively, the device APN table 110 of UE 105 maystore a non-standard APN, for the other network, that is invalid in thesecond wireless carrier network. UE 105 then sends a connection request140 to mobility management node 235 that requests a connection to theother network (i.e., the Internet in this example) that is associatedwith the APN Carrier_1_APN3 or the non-standard APN (not shown). Uponreceipt of connection request 140, mobility management node 135 uses thesubscriber's list 120 of allowed APNs, and the internal and external APNcontained within the list 120, to perform 145 an APN translation fromthe first wireless network carrier (Carrier 1), or non-standard APN, tothe second wireless network carrier (Carrier 2). As depicted in FIG. 1,mobility management node 135 translates the APN from connection request140 from “Carrier_1_APN3” to “Carrier_2_APN_3”. Mobility management node135 then connects UE 105 with a packet gateway (not shown) that furtherconnects to the other network (i.e., the Internet in this example).

FIG. 2A depicts an exemplary network environment 200 in which a set ofalias APNs, or a set of first APNs, are used for translating APNsassociated with a first wireless carrier network to APNs associated witha second wireless carrier network when network signaling occurs betweenUEs 105 and the second wireless carrier network. As shown, a UE 105 of asubscriber 100 (designated with a “1” within a circle) initially obtainswireless service via a first wireless network carrier 205-1.Subsequently, the UE 105 of the subscriber 100 obtains wireless service(designated with a “2” within a circle) via a second wireless networkcarrier 205-2. Subscriber 100 may, in one implementation, initiallysubscribe to the wireless service of the first wireless network carrier205-1, and then change the subscription to the wireless service of thesecond wireless network carrier 205-2.

In another implementation, subscriber 100 may maintain service with twodifferent wireless network carriers simultaneously, such as simultaneoussubscriptions to wireless service via both of the first wireless networkcarrier 205-1 and the second wireless network carrier 205-2. In thisimplementation, UE 105 of subscriber 100 may switch back and forthbetween wireless services offered by each of the wireless networkcarriers.

FIG. 2B depicts further details of the exemplary network environment 200of FIG. 2A, including details of one example of wireless network 205. Asshown, network environment 200 may include multiple UEs 105-1 through105-n, a wireless network(s) 205, a supervisory node 210, anOver-the-Air (OTA) server 215, and multiple additional other networks220-1 through 220-m that connect to wireless network 205.

UEs 105-1 through 105-n (referred to herein as “UE 105” or “UEs 105”)may each include any type of electronic device that includes a wirelesscommunication interface for communicating with wireless network 205 viaa wireless connection. UEs 105 may each include, for example, a cellulartelephone; a “smart” phone; a personal digital assistant (PDA); awearable computer; a desktop, laptop, palmtop or tablet computer; amedia player; a Machine-to-Machine (M2M) device, or an “Internet ofThings” (IoT) device. A subscriber 100 (not shown in FIG. 2B) may beassociated with each UE 105, where subscriber 100 may be an owner,operator, and/or a permanent or temporary user of a UE 105.

Wireless network(s) 205 includes one or more wireless networks. The oneor more wireless networks may each include, for example, a wireless PLMNor a wireless satellite network that is operated and/or administered bya particular wireless network service provider (a “carrier”). The PLMNmay include a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) 2000 PLMN, a GSMPLMN, a Long-Term Evolution (LTE) PLMN and/or other types of PLMNs notspecifically described herein. FIG. 2B depicts a single wireless network205, however, network environment 200 may include two (or more) wirelessnetworks, such as wireless networks 205-1 and 205-1 shown in FIG. 2B.

FIG. 2B further depicts components of one example of wireless network205. As shown, wireless network 205 may include evolved NodeBs (eNBs)225-1 through 225-z (generically referred to herein as “eNBs 225” or“eNB 225”), a serving gateway (SGW) 230, a Mobility Management Entity(MME) 235, HSS 125, and packet data network gateways (PGWs) 240-1through 240-m. MME 235 corresponds to the Mobility Management node 135depicted in FIG. 1.

eNBs 225 (also referred to herein as “base stations”) each includehardware that wirelessly communicates directly with wireless devices(e.g., UEs 105) to enable network service with wireless network 205(e.g., a PLMN). Each of eNBs 225 includes a wireless transceiver forcommunicating with the wireless devices, and a wired or wireless linkfor connecting to other nodes of wireless network 205 such as, forexample, wired links to SGW 230 or MME 235.

SGW 230 includes one or more network devices that route and forward datapackets received from UEs 105 and destined for destination nodes innetwork 205, or in networks 220-1 through 220-m; and also route andforward data packets received from PGWs 240 and destined for one or moreUEs 105.

MME 235 includes one or more network devices that perform, withinwireless network 205, mobility management functions, call controlmanagement functions, session management functions, and/or identitymanagement functions associated with providing wireless service to UEs105.

HSS 125 includes one or more network devices that store a database thatcontains subscriber-related and subscription-related information. HSS125 may store subscriber profiles that further include subscriber listsof allowed APNs. HSS 125 may perform, based on the information stored inthe database, a user authentication function, a session establishmentfunction, and/or an access authorization function.

PGWs 240 each includes one or more network devices that provideconnectivity from the UEs 105 to other networks connected to wirelessnetwork 205, such as networks 220-1 through 220-m. Each of PGWs 240 maybe associated with a different APN that is used to connect a UE 105 tothe PGW 240, and then on to a network 220.

Supervisory node 210 includes one or more network devices that keeptrack of wireless network subscriptions that each subscriber 100maintains, and inserts alias APNs into the subscriber's list of allowedAPNs based on, for example, a subscriber 100's change in wirelessnetwork service subscriptions from a first carrier to a second carrier,based on a subscriber 100's switching between carriers when subscriber100 maintains simultaneous subscriptions with two or more carriers,and/or based on other circumstances described herein.

OTA server 215 includes one or more network devices that communicatewith UEs 105 to remotely change or update data, settings, apps,functions, and/or services at UEs 105. In one implementation, OTA server215 may update the APNs, associated with networks 220, stored in UE105's device APN table 110 such as, for example, when the UE 105'ssubscriber changes wireless network carriers, and then connects to thenew wireless network.

Networks 220-1 through 220-m (referred to herein as “network 220” or“networks 220”) may each include a separate network that connects towireless network(s) 205 via a respective PGW 240. In one implementation,UEs 105 may communicate with a destination in a network 220, via arespective PGW 240, using an Access Point Name (APN) that is associatedwith that network 220. Each of networks 220 may include a network ofvarious types including, for example, a public land mobile network(PLMN) (e.g., a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) 2000 PLMN, a GlobalSystem for Mobile Communications (GSM) PLMN, a Long Term Evolution (LTE)PLMN and/or other types of PLMNs), a satellite mobile network, atelecommunications network (e.g., Public Switched Telephone Networks(PSTNs)), a wired and/or wireless local area network (LAN), a wiredand/or wireless wide area network (WAN), a metropolitan area network(MAN), an intranet, the Internet, an Internet Protocol (IP) MultimediaSubsystem (IMS) network, or a cable network (e.g., an optical cablenetwork).

FIG. 2C depicts connections, from a UE 105 through two differentwireless network carriers, to a same destination network. As shown, a UE105 establishes a first connection (shown with a “1” within a circle),via a first packet gateway (PGW) 240-1 within a first wireless carriernetwork 205-1, to network 220-1. A first APN (APN_(1st Carrier)) isused, as valid within the first wireless carrier network 205-1, toestablish the first connection from UE 105 to PGW 240-1 and network220-1. As further shown, UE 105 subsequently establishes a secondconnection (shown with a “2” within a circle), via a second packetgateway (PGW) 240-2 within a second wireless carrier network 205-2, tonetwork 220-1. A second APN (APN_(2nd Carrier)) is used, as valid withinthe second wireless carrier network 205-2, to establish the secondconnection from UE 105 to PGW 240-2 and network 220-1.

As described in further detail below, when UE 105 first attempts toestablish the connection via the second wireless carrier network 205-2after having previously established the connection via the firstwireless carrier network 205-1, UE 105 retrieves APN_(1st Carrier) fromthe device APN table 110 stored at UE 105, and, using the retrievedAPN_(1st Carrier), requests the connection via the second wirelesscarrier network 205-2, where the retrieved APN_(1st Carrier) is invalidwithin the second wireless carrier network 205-2. A mobility managementnode (not shown in FIG. 2C) performs a translation of APN_(1st Carrier)to the appropriate APN (i.e., APN_(2nd) Carrier) in the second wirelesscarrier network 205-2 such that a connection can be established betweenUE 105, PGW 240-2, and network 220-1. In one implementation, themobility management node may perform the translation using a set ofalias APNs or a set of first APNs stored in, for example, a subscriberprofile for the subscriber 100 that owns, operates, and/or carries UE105.

The configuration of the components of network environment 200 depictedin FIGS. 2A-2C is for illustrative purposes only, and otherconfigurations may be implemented. Therefore, network environment 200may include additional, fewer and/or different components, that may beconfigured differently, than depicted in FIGS. 2A-2C.

FIG. 3 is a diagram that depicts exemplary components of a device 300.UEs 105, eNBs 225, SGW 230, MME 135, HSS 125, supervisory node 210, OTAserver 215, and PGWs 240 may each include a device or devices similar todevice 300, possibly with some variations in components and/orconfiguration. Device 300 may include a bus 310, a processing unit 320,a main memory 330, a read only memory (ROM) 340, a storage device 350,an input device(s) 360, an output device(s) 370, and a communicationinterface(s) 380.

Bus 310 includes a path that permits communication among the componentsof device 300. Processing unit 320 may include one or more processors ormicroprocessors, or processing logic, which may interpret and executeinstructions. Main memory 330 may include a random access memory (RAM)or another type of dynamic storage device that may store information andinstructions for execution by processing unit 320. ROM 340 may include aROM device or another type of static storage device that stores staticinformation and instructions for use by processing unit 320. Storagedevice 350 may include a magnetic and/or optical recording medium. Mainmemory 330, ROM 340 and storage device 350 may be a “tangible and/ornon-transitory computer-readable medium.”

Input device 360 may include one or more mechanisms that permit anoperator to input information to device 300, such as, for example, akeypad or a keyboard, a display with a touch sensitive panel, voicerecognition and/or biometric mechanisms, etc. Output device 370 mayinclude one or more mechanisms that output information to the operatoror user, including a display (e.g., with a touch sensitive panel), aspeaker, etc. Input device 360 and output device 370 may be implementedas a graphical user interface (GUI) (e.g., a touch screen GUI that usesany type of touch screen device) that displays GUI information and whichreceives user input via the GUI. Communication interface(s) 380 mayinclude a transceiver that enables device 300 to communicate with otherdevices and/or systems. For example, communication interface(s) 380 mayinclude wired and/or wireless transceivers for communicating vianetwork(s) 205 and/or 220. In the case of device 300 being an IoTdevice, communication interface(s) 380 may include only a wirelesstransceiver(s), such as, for example, a transceiver for communicatingwith an eNB 225 of wireless network 205.

The configuration of components of device 300 shown in FIG. 3 is forillustrative purposes. Other configurations may be implemented.Therefore, device 300 may include additional, fewer and/or differentcomponents, arranged in a different configuration, than depicted in FIG.3. For example, an IoT device may include similar components to thoseshown in FIG. 3, but may omit input device(s) 360, output device(s) 370,and storage device 350.

FIG. 4 is a diagram that depicts an exemplary implementation of HSS 125.As shown, a data structure of HSS 125 may include multiple entries 400,with each entry 400 including a UE identifier (ID) field 405, asubscriber profile field 410, an allowed APN list field 415, and amobility management information field 420. The data structure of HSS 125may be stored within a memory of a network device 300.

UE identifier (ID) field 405 stores a unique identifier (e.g., aglobally unique ID (GUID)) for a respective UE 105. In oneimplementation, the UE ID may include an International Mobile SubscriberIdentity (IMSI). Other types of UE IDs, however, may be used. Subscriberprofile field 410 stores a profile associated with a particularsubscriber 100 that owns, operates, and/or uses the UE 105 identified infield 405. Allowed APN list field 415 stores a list of allowed APNs thatis associated with the particular subscriber 100 that owns, operates,and/or uses the UE 105 identified in field 405. Mobility managementinformation field 420 stores mobility management data associated withthe UE 105 identified in field 405.

HSS 125 is depicted in FIG. 4 as including a tabular data structure witha certain number of fields having certain content. The tabular datastructure of HSS shown in FIG. 4, however, is for illustrative purposes.Other types of data structures may alternatively be used. The number,types, and content of the entries and/or fields in the data structure ofHSS 125 illustrated in FIG. 4 is also for illustrative purposes. Otherdata structures having different numbers of, types of and/or content of,the entries and/or the fields may be implemented. Therefore, HSS 125 mayinclude additional, fewer and/or different entries and/or fields thanthose depicted in FIG. 4.

To locate a particular entry at HSS 125, HSS 125 may be queried with,for example, a UE ID to locate an entry 400 having a matching UE IDstored in UE ID field 405. When such an entry 400 is located, data maybe stored in one or more fields 405, 410, 415 and/or 420, or data may beretrieved from one or more fields 405, 410, 415 and/or 420. Other fieldsof an entry 400, instead of UE ID 405, may alternatively be used forquerying HSS 125.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram that illustrates an exemplary process forupdating a subscriber's wireless network subscriber profile when thesubscriber changes wireless service from a first wireless networkcarrier to a second wireless network carrier, or when the subscriber'swireless device uses non-standard APNs that are invalid in the secondwireless carrier network. In one implementation, the exemplary processof FIG. 5 may be implemented by supervisory node 210. The exemplaryprocess of FIG. 5 is described below with reference to the diagrams ofFIGS. 6 and 7.

The exemplary process includes supervisory node 210 receiving anindication that subscriber 100 is changing from a first mobile networkcarrier to a second mobile network carrier, or that the subscriber 100'sUE 105 requires non-standard APNs (block 500). In one circumstance,subscriber 100 may engage in a new wireless network subscription with asecond mobile network carrier owned, operated and/or administered by asecond mobile network provider, and may cancel a first subscription witha first mobile network carrier owned, operated and/or administered by afirst mobile network provider. Supervisory node 210 may receive theindication from, for example, a network node that tracks wirelessnetwork subscriptions for the second mobile network provider. In anothercircumstance, subscriber 100 may maintain separate subscriptions withtwo different mobile network carriers simultaneously, and may changefrom accessing a first wireless network associated with a first mobilenetwork provider via UE 105, to accessing a second wireless networkassociated with a second mobile network provider via the same UE 105.FIG. 7 depicts supervisory node 210 receiving an indication 700 of acarrier change for subscriber 100, or non-standard APN, where thecarrier change includes, in one implementation, a wireless networksubscription changing from a first carrier to a second carrier.

Supervisory node 210 obtains the subscriber 100's APNs that areassociated with the first carrier, or the subscriber's non-standard APNs(block 510), and obtains APNs for the second carrier that correspond toeach of the subscriber's first carrier APNs or to each of thesubscriber's non-standard APNs (block 520). Supervisory node 210 may,for example, maintain a current list of allowed APNs for the firstcarrier, or the non-standard APNs, for the subscriber 100 in localmemory. Alternatively, or additionally, a current list of allowed APNs(e.g., non-standard APNs) for the subscriber 100 may be stored in HSS125. As yet another alternative, supervisory node 210 may retrieve thecurrent contents of device APN table 110 stored at the subscriber 100'sUE 105, where such contents may include the APNs for the first wirelesscarrier network, or the non-standard APNs. In the case of the currentlist of allowed APNs being stored in HSS 125, supervisory node 210 mayretrieve the current list of allowed APNs for the subscriber 100 fromHSS 125. The APNs for the second carrier may be stored by, for example,a subscription management node (not shown in FIG. 2B or 7) that isassociated with the 2nd wireless network carrier. FIG. 7 depictssupervisory node 210 obtaining 705 the subscriber 100's APNs associatedwith the first carrier, or the UE 105's non-standard APNs, and obtaining710 the APNs for the second carrier that correspond to each of thesubscriber 100's first carrier APNs, or each of the UE 105'snon-standard APNs.

Supervisory node 210 designates each of the APNs for the second carrieras an “alias APN” (block 530). This designation indicates that each APNwith the second carrier is an “alias” of the corresponding non-standardAPN or APN with the first carrier, such that when UE 105 retrieves thenon-standard APN or APN for the first carrier from the device APN table110, a translation of the APN from the device APN table 110 to thesecond carrier may be achieved, by MME 135, based on the “alias” APN.FIG. 7 depicts supervisory node 210 designating 715 each of the APNs forthe second carrier as an “alias APN.”

Supervisory node 210 inserts each of the subscriber's APNs for the 1stcarrier, or each of the subscriber's non-standard APNs, into thesubscriber's list of allowed APNs in association with a correspondingalias APN (block 540). FIG. 6 shows an exemplary list 600 containing aset of the APNs allowed to be accessed by the subscriber 100 associatedwith the list 600. As shown, list 600 includes multiple “allowed APNs”610-1 through 610-x associated with a particular subscriber 100. Asfurther shown in FIG. 6, the APN for the 1st carrier, or a non-standardAPN (not shown) is inserted, and the corresponding APN for the 2ndcarrier is inserted, into an “alias APN” data structure 630 thatprovides a mapping between the APN for the 1st carrier (or non-standardAPN) to the APN for the 2nd carrier. In the exemplary “alias” APN datastructures 630-1 through 630-x, shown in FIG. 6, an alias mappingdescriptor 620, entitled “external name” is associated with the APN forthe first carrier, or non-standard APN, inserted into “alias APN” datastructure 630. The “external name” descriptor identifies the associatedAPN as an external APN name that the UE 105 will request, where theexternal APN name is an APN name that is valid in a first wirelesscarrier network 205-1, or is a non-standard APN name. Another aliasmapping descriptor 625, entitled “internal name,” is associated with theAPN for the second carrier inserted into “alias APN” data structure 630.The “internal name” descriptor identifies the associated APN as aninternal APN name that the second wireless carrier network 205-2 may usefor internal signaling. “Alias APN” data structure 630, thus, maps anAPN that is non-standard or valid in a first wireless carrier network205-1 (but invalid in a second wireless carrier network 205-2) to acorresponding APN that is valid in the second wireless carrier network205-2 such that a mobility management node (e.g., MME 235) may use the“alias APN” structure 630 to translate an non-standard APN, or the APNin the first wireless carrier network 205-1, to an APN in the secondwireless carrier network 205-2. FIG. 7 depicts supervisory node 210inserting 720 each of the subscriber's APNs for the first carrier, orthe subscriber's non-standard APNs, into the subscriber 100's list ofallowed APNs in association with a corresponding alias APN.

Supervisory node 210 inserts the subscriber's list of allowed APNs intothe subscriber profile for the subscriber (block 550), and stores thenew subscriber profile in HSS 125 as a new/updated subscriber profile(block 560). The existing subscriber profile includes a portionset-aside for the subscriber's list of allowed APNs, and supervisorynode 210 replaces the existing list of allowed APNs with the modifiedlist of APNs created in block 540. FIG. 7 depicts supervisory node 210inserting 725 the subscriber 100's list of allowed APNs into thesubscriber profile for the subscriber 100, and storing 730 thenew/updated subscriber profile in HSS 125. The subscriber profile,stored in HSS 125, may be subsequently retrieved by, for example, themobility management node (e.g., MME 135) for retrieving the modifiedlist of allowed APNs that includes the set of alias APNs.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram that illustrates an exemplary process for amobility management node (e.g., MME 235) to obtain an updated subscriberprofile of a subscriber 100, which includes a subscriber's list ofallowed APNs with alias APNs, for use at the mobility management node inhandling signaling from the UE 105 of the subscriber 100. The exemplaryprocess of FIG. 8 may be implemented by, for example, MME 235. Theexemplary process of FIG. 8 is described below with reference to theexemplary operation/messaging diagram of FIG. 9.

MME 235, serving a subscriber 100's UE 105, requests, from HSS 125, anupdated subscriber profile for the subscriber 100 associated with the UE105 (block 800), and MME 235 receives the updated subscriber profilefrom HSS 125 based on the request (block 810). As depicted in FIG. 9,MME 235 may initiate the subscriber profile request based on, forexample, receiving signaling 905 from a base station (e.g., eNB 225)that received signaling from a UE 105 of subscriber 100. FIG. 9 furtherdepicts MME 235 sending a request 910 for the subscriber 100'ssubscriber profile to HSS 125, and receiving a return message 915containing the requested subscriber profile of subscriber 100.

MME 235 extracts the subscriber's list of allowed APNs from thesubscriber profile (block 820), and locally stores the subscriberprofile, and the subscriber 100's list of allowed APNs (block 830). Theextracted list of allowed APNs includes the alias APNs, as insertedwithin the list of allowed APNs in block 540 of FIG. 5. FIG. 9 depictsMME 235 extracting 920 the subscriber 100's list of allowed APNs fromthe received subscriber profile, and locally storing 925 the list ofallowed APNs and the subscriber profile.

The exemplary process of FIG. 8 may, in one implementation, be repeatedat MME 235 each time the subscriber 100's UE 105 sends a servicerequest, or other signaling, to wireless network 205. In otherimplementations, the exemplary process of FIG. 5 may be repeated atperiodic intervals once the subscriber 100's UE 105 has connected towireless network 205.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram that illustrates an exemplary process fortranslating, based on alias APNs, a non-standard APN or an APN in afirst wireless carrier network to an APN in a second wireless carriernetwork for establishing a connection via the second wireless carriernetwork. The exemplary process of FIG. 10 may be implemented by MME 235,in conjunction with a base station (e.g., eNB 225). The exemplaryprocess of FIG. 10 is described below with reference to the exemplaryoperation/messaging diagram of FIG. 11. The exemplary process of FIG. 10may be implemented at an MME 235 when a connection request is receivedfrom a subscriber 100's UE 105 requesting a connection, sent to a basestation in a second wireless carrier network 205-2, with the requestincluding a subscriber 100's non-standard APN from UE 105's device APNtable 110 or an APN in a 1st wireless carrier network 205-1. In someimplementations, the connection request may occur prior to a processwhich updates the APNs stored in the UE 105's device APN table 110 toreflect, for example, the subscriber 100's change from a first wirelesscarrier network to a second wireless carrier network.

MME 235 receives a connection request, originating with a subscriber100's UE 105 and directed to the second carrier network 205-2, where theconnection request indicates a requested APN (APN_(1st Carrier)) withinthe 1st carrier network 205-1, or a non-standard APN from UE 105'sdevice APN table 110 (block 1000). When changing network access fromfirst wireless carrier network 205-1 to second wireless carrier network205-2, UE 105's device APN table 100 may include a set of APNscorresponding to the first wireless carrier network 205-1. Therefore, arequest for a particular network connection with an APN retrieved fromdevice APN table 100 will incorrectly identify an APN in the firstwireless carrier network 205-1 (APN_(1st Carrier)) even though theconnection request is being submitted to a second wireless carriernetwork 205-2. FIG. 11 depicts UE 105 sending a connection request 1100,which includes an APN of the first wireless carrier network 205-1(APN_(1st Carrier)) or a non-standard APN (APN_(non-standard)), to eNB225 within the second wireless carrier network 205-2. eNB 225, uponreceipt of connection request 1100, forwards the connection request 1105on to the MME 235 that is serving eNB 225 or UE 105.

MME 235 retrieves the subscriber's list of allowed APNs (block 1010),and uses the requested APN to query the list of allowed APNs andtranslate the requested APN to an APN within the second carrier 205-2based on an alias APN from the list (block 1020). The subscriber's listof allowed APNs may be retrieved from local memory at MME 235, or may beretrieved from HSS 125 if the list is not currently cached in the localmemory. Referring to the exemplary list 600 of allowed APNs of FIG. 6,MME 235 locates the alias APN data structure 630 that includes an“external name” descriptor 620 that equals the requested APN. Within thelocated alias APN data structure 630, MME 235 locates the APN associatedwith the “internal name” alias mapping descriptor 625, and translatesthe requested APN into the APN associated with the “internal name” aliasmapping descriptor 625. The alias APN data structure 630, thus, permitsMME 235 to translate the requested APN by mapping it from a non-standardAPN, or an APN in the first wireless carrier network 205-1, to an APN ina second wireless carrier network 205-2. The connection request from UE105 may additionally include a subscriber ID for the subscriber 100 suchthat MME 135 may use the subscriber ID to retrieve the subscriber 100'slist of allowed APNs. FIG. 11 depicts MME 235 retrieving 1110 thesubscriber's list of allowed APNs, and using 1115 the APN_(1st Carrier)to query the list of allowed APNs and translate the APN to an APN(APN_(2nd Carrier)) within the second wireless carrier network using analias APN from the list.

MME 235 uses the translated APN (APN_(2nd Carrier)) for signalingassociated with the subscriber 100's UE 105's connection with the 2ndcarrier network 205-2 (block 1030). Any signaling associated with aconnection of the subscriber 100's UE 105's via the second wirelessnetwork carrier 205-2 to the destination network (or other destination)will contain the translated APN (APN_(2nd Carrier)). FIG. 11 depicts MME235 using 1120 the translated APN_(2nd Carrier) for signaling 1125associated with subscriber 100's UE connection with the second wirelesscarrier network. Signaling from UE 105 to MME 235 uses theAPN_(1st Carrier) within the first wireless carrier network 205-1, orthe non-standard APN (APN_(non-standard)), whereas signaling from MME135, associated with service to UE 105, uses APN_(2nd Carrier) forsignaling between MME 235 and other nodes in wireless network 205-2(e.g., SGW 230, PGWs 240)

The exemplary process of FIG. 10 may be repeated at MME 235 for eachconnection request, directed to a second wireless carrier network, wherethe connection request includes a requested APN within a first wirelesscarrier network, or a non-standard APN.

In circumstances where the subscriber has migrated from a first wirelesscarrier network to a second wireless carrier network and subsequent toexecution of the exemplary process of FIG. 10, the device APN table 110may be updated such that the APNs within the table are directed to APNsin the second wireless carrier network, instead of to APNs directed tothe previous first wireless carrier network. Therefore, for futureconnection requests from UE 105 to the second wireless carrier network,UE 105 can retrieve an APN for the second wireless carrier network, fromthe updated device APN table 110, and include it within the connectionrequest to the second wireless carrier network. The device APN table 110update process may, in some implementations, be performed by an OpenMobile Alliance (OMA) Device Management (DM) node and/or a Lightweight(LW) Machine-to-Machine management node. In other circumstances, such aswhen the subscriber maintains subscriptions with two different wirelesscarriers simultaneously, or when the subscriber 100's UE 105 does notdeploy a carrier-specific device management client, or when thesubscriber 100's UE 105 uses non-standard APNs (e.g., with MPN service,etc.), the device APN table 110 may not be updated, and the alias APNswithin the list of allowed APNs for the subscriber may continue to beused for translating the APNs retrieved from the device's APN table 110to corresponding APNs that are valid in the wireless carrier network towhich the device is connecting.

The foregoing description of implementations provides illustration anddescription, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit theinvention to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variationsare possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired frompractice of the invention. For example, while series of blocks have beendescribed with respect to FIGS. 5, 8, and 10, and operation/messageflows with respect to FIGS. 7, 9, and 11, the order of the blocks and/oroperation/message flows may be varied in other implementations.Moreover, non-dependent blocks may be performed in parallel.

Certain features described above may be implemented as “logic” or a“unit” that performs one or more functions. This logic or unit mayinclude hardware, such as one or more processors, microprocessors,application specific integrated circuits, or field programmable gatearrays, software, or a combination of hardware and software.

No element, act, or instruction used in the description of the presentapplication should be construed as critical or essential to theinvention unless explicitly described as such. Also, as used herein, thearticle “a” is intended to include one or more items. Further, thephrase “based on” is intended to mean “based, at least in part, on”unless explicitly stated otherwise.

To the extent the aforementioned embodiments collect, store, or employpersonal information of individuals, it should be understood that suchinformation shall be collected, stored, and used in accordance with allapplicable laws concerning protection of personal information.Additionally, the collection, storage, and use of such information canbe subject to consent of the individual to such activity, for example,through well known “opt-in” or “opt-out” processes as can be appropriatefor the situation and type of information. Storage and use of personalinformation can be in an appropriately secure manner reflective of thetype of information, for example, through various encryption andanonymization techniques for particularly sensitive information.

In the preceding specification, various preferred embodiments have beendescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings. It will, however,be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereto,and additional embodiments may be implemented, without departing fromthe broader scope of the invention as set forth in the claims thatfollow. The specification and drawings are accordingly to be regarded inan illustrative rather than restrictive sense.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: receiving, at a networkdevice associated with a first wireless carrier network from a wirelessdevice, a connection request that includes a first Access Point Name(APN) that is invalid in the first wireless carrier network, wherein theconnection request originated from a wireless device; translating, bythe network device, the first APN to a second APN that is valid in thefirst wireless carrier network; and using, by the network device, thesecond APN in signaling associated with a connection between thewireless device and the first wireless carrier network.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the first APN is valid within a second wireless carriernetwork that is different than the first wireless carrier network andfurther comprising: obtaining, by the network device, a first set ofAPNs that map the first APN, and other APNs, that are invalid in thefirst wireless carrier network, to APNs that are valid in the firstwireless carrier network, and wherein translating the first APN furthercomprises: translating based on the first set of APNs.
 3. The method ofclaim 2, wherein translating the first APN further comprises: mappingthe first APN to the second APN using the first set of APNs.
 4. Themethod of claim 2, wherein obtaining the first set of APNs comprises:retrieving, by the network device, a subscriber profile of a subscriberassociated with the wireless device; and obtaining the first set of APNsfrom the retrieved subscriber profile.
 5. The method of claim 4, whereinobtaining the first set of APNs from the retrieved subscriber profilecomprises: retrieving, from the subscriber profile, a list of APNs thatare allowed for the subscriber, wherein the list of APNs includes thefirst set of APNs.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first APN isvalid within a second wireless carrier network that is different thanthe first wireless carrier network.
 7. The method of claim 6, whereinthe first APN is associated with a second gateway between the secondwireless carrier network and another network, and wherein the second APNis associated with a first gateway between the first wireless carriernetwork and the other network.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein thefirst wireless carrier network comprises a Public Land Mobile Network(PLMN) or satellite network, and the other network comprises anInternet.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the network device comprisesa device that performs mobility management functions in the firstwireless carrier network.
 10. A network device, comprising: acommunication interface configured to receive, via a first wirelesscarrier network from a wireless device, a connection request thatincludes a first Access Point Name (APN) that is invalid in the firstwireless carrier network; and a processor or logic configured to:translate the first APN to a second APN that is valid in the firstwireless carrier network; and use the second APN in signaling associatedwith a connection between the wireless device and the first wirelesscarrier network.
 11. The network device of claim 10, wherein the firstAPN is valid within a second wireless carrier network that is differentthan the first wireless carrier network, and wherein the processor orlogic is further configured to: obtain a first set of APNs that map thefirst APN, and other APNs, that are invalid in the first wirelesscarrier network, to APNs that are valid in the first wireless carriernetwork, and wherein, when translating the first APN, the processor orlogic is further configured to: translate based on the first set ofAPNs.
 12. The network device of claim 11, wherein, when translating thefirst APN, the processor or logic is further configured to: map thefirst APN to the second APN using the first set of APNs.
 13. The networkdevice of claim 11, wherein, when obtaining the first set of APNs, theprocessor or logic is further configured to: retrieve a subscriberprofile of a subscriber associated with the wireless device; and obtainthe first set of APNs from the retrieved subscriber profile.
 14. Thenetwork device of claim 13, wherein when obtaining the first set of APNsfrom the retrieved subscriber profile, the processor or logic is furtherconfigured to: retrieve, from the subscriber profile, a list of APNsthat are allowed for the subscriber, wherein the list of APNs includesthe first set of APNs.
 15. The network device of claim 10, wherein thefirst APN is valid within a second wireless carrier network that isdifferent than the first wireless carrier network.
 16. The networkdevice of claim 15, wherein the first APN is associated with a secondgateway between the second wireless carrier network and another network,and wherein the second APN is associated with a first gateway betweenthe first wireless carrier network and the other network.
 17. Thenetwork device of claim 16, wherein the first wireless carrier networkcomprises a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) or satellite network, andthe other network comprises an Internet.
 18. A non-transitory storagemedium storing instructions executable by a network device, wherein theinstructions comprise instructions to cause the network device to:receive a connection request, from a wireless device, that includes afirst Access Point Name (APN) that is invalid in a first wirelesscarrier network; translate the first APN to a second APN that is validin the first wireless carrier network; and use the second APN insignaling associated with a connection between the wireless device andthe first wireless carrier network.
 19. The non-transitory storagemedium of claim 18, wherein the first APN is valid within a secondwireless carrier network that is different than the first wirelesscarrier network and wherein the instructions comprise instructions tocause the network device to: obtain a first set of APNs that map thefirst APN, and other APNs, that are invalid in the first wirelesscarrier network, to APNs that are valid in the first wireless carriernetwork, and wherein the instructions to translate the first APN furthercomprise instructions to cause the network device to: translate based onthe first set of APNs.
 20. The non-transitory storage medium of claim19, wherein the instructions to translate the first APN further compriseinstructions to cause the network device to: map the first APN to thesecond APN using the first set of APNs.